Thaipusam is a Hindu festival of ceremonial offerings, devotional piercings, and a variety of ritual cleansing celebrated by the Tamil Indian communities. This year, S.E.A. Ambassador, Ben Turland was lucky enough to land in Malaysia right in time for Thaipusam. He took in the sights with his wife and gives us the low down on what it was like to experience this spectacular event.

Spending the festive season on Koh Phangan was never going to be your average chill-out affair, but even for party-fiends like us, the mere thought of a massive three-stage rave-up on the January 2nd (yes, the second of January) seemed… well. A bit… much? Could we handle it? Well, just a tiny peek at the lineup of Rhythm and Sands gave us our answer pretty sharpish: Hell, yes – we could. And was it worth it? Travel writer, Karen Farini finds out...

Here at S.E.A Backpacker, we love to tell backpackers about events and festivals that you won't find in your Guide Book. Events that your average tourist can only dream about! Far away from the noodle stalls and tuk tuks, witness an ultra modern edge of Thai culture where the new generation of music lovers are expressing themselves. Forget your phrase book. All nationalities mingle here through the universal language of music and dance. With more than 30 artists in the line-up, blasting out everything from House to Trance, Electro to Dubstep, Indie Pop to Rock, this festival is not to be missed...

With Olympic fever now dominating the planet, the S.E.A Backpacker Team decided to embrace the competitive spirit and try to win some medals ourselves! The event is the Travel Blogger Relay invented by lowcostholidays.com, who are asking travel writers all over the world to put forward their ‘Personal Bests’ – in travel memories! Each blogger will share their three best travel memories on their own website before passing the baton onto a fellow blogger who will then list their top three travel memories and so on... The team in the longest chain of bloggers by the end of the competition will win the race! So, without further ado, here are the TOP THREE travel memories from the S.E.A Backpacker Team...

Those awesome people who brought us Rhythm & Vines and Rhythm & Alps of New Zealand, now in their 10th year of mega success, have extended their arms into Thailand bringing with them the international dance scene and some of the planet's biggest acts! Set in a secluded yet accessible beach venue amidst the palms of Baan Tai, three days before the full moon party, Rhythm & Sands brings you the next level of the Thai Beach Party Experience…